Uptons

Infobox Company
name = Uptons

type = department store
genre =
foundation =
founder =
location_city = Norcross, Georgia
location_country = United States
locations = 75
area_served = Southeastern United States
key_people =
industry = retail
products =
services =
owner = American Retail Group
slogan = Uptons - Just What You're Looking For

Uptons was a department store based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The chain operated primarily in the Southeastern United States, with locations in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The chain was disestablished in 1999.

History

Thirty-seven locations of the Florida-based Byrons department store chain were acquired in 1996. [cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4298/is_199601/ai_n14962670 |title=ARG folds 37 Byrons into Uptons.(American Retail Group)(Brief Article) |accessdate=2007-09-29 |date=1996-01 |work=Daily News Record] A year later, the company moved its headquarters from Norcross (a suburb of metro Atlanta) into Atlanta proper. [cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1997/12/08/newscolumn1.html |title=Uptons moving headquarters to Technology Park |accessdate=2007-09-29 |date=1997-12-05|work=Atlanta Business Chronicle]

In July 1999, American Retail Group decided that maintaining the Uptons chain was too costly.cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1999/09/20/newscolumn4.html |title=Uptons: Interest in its sites leads to verbal deals |accessdate=2007-09-29 |date=1999-09-17 |work=Atlanta Business Chronicle] . By 2000, the chain has closed the last of its seventy-five stores. [cite web |url=http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/072099/new_uptons.shtml |title=Uptons stores to be shut down |accessdate=2007-09-29 |date=1999-07-20 |work=Online Athens] cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1999/07/19/daily1.html |title=Uptons stores to close |accessdate=2007-09-29 |date=1999-07-19 |work=Atlanta Business Chronicle] At the time, American Retail Group also owned clothing retailer Maurices, Inc.; sporting goods chain Eastern Mountain Sports, Inc; and The Hub, Inc. (which comprised the clothing chains Millers Outpost, Levi's Outlet by M.O.S.T., Dockers Outlet by M.O.S.T., Juxtapose and Anchor Blue).

Former locations

Florida

*Brandon - Former J. Byron - now Peddler's Mall
*Coral Springs - Coral Springs Mall - former J. Byron; mall closed and converted to a school
*Hialeah - Palm Springs Mile - former J. Byron; now Ross Dress For Less
*Jupiter - Former J. Byron.
*Kendall - Miller Square shopping center - former J. Byron; now El Dorado Furniture
*Kissimmee - Osceola Square Mall - now Steve & Barry's
*Pembroke Pines - Toys R' Us Plaza - now El Dorado
*St. Petersburg- Gateway Mall; now Bealls
*Seminole - Seminole Mall - opened 1970 as J. Byron; closed 1999, now Bealls
*Stuart - Martin Square Mall - mall torn down
*Sunrise - Oakland Park/University Walmart Plaza - now LA Fitness
*Pinecrest- Sunniland Shopping Center - now a Peter & Glen Ski shop/ Azhars Oriental Rugs
*Port Charlotte- Promenades Plaza - Former J. Byrons; now Winn Dixie

*Fort Myers- College Parkway- Former J. Byrons; now Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market.

Georgia

*Atlanta - Greenbriar Mall - opened 1987 in former JCPenney; now Burlington Coat Factory
*Athens - Perimeter Square - closed 1999, now Goodwill Thrift Store
*Augusta - Regency Mall - opened in former Cullum's; closed 1993, entire mall closed
*Austell - Austell Place - now Burlington Coat Factory
*Buford - Mall of Georgia - store planned but never opened, site became Haverty's Furniture
*Decatur - North DeKalb Mall - closed 1999, later Stein Mart, now a furniture store
*Douglasville - Arbor Place Mall - store built but never opened; became Dekor, now JCPenney
*Kennesaw - Cobb Place - now Ashley Furniture
*Morrow - Southlake Mall - Strip center outside of Southlake Mall
*Newnan - Between the Wal-Mart and Lowes at I-85 and Ga Hwy 34. Now a Belk store
*Roswell - Roswell Mall - mall torn down and rebuilt
*Stone Mountain - Stone Mountain Festival - closed 1999, torn down and old site is now part of a remodeled old Wal-Mart (Now a Super Wal-Mart)

Maryland

*Gaithersburg - Kentlands Shopping Center - torn down for apartment complex
*Columbia - Dobbin Center (former Hechinger, now Haverty's and Offenbacher's furniture stores)

North Carolina

*Asheville - Asheville Mall - opened in former Meyers-Arnold; now smaller shops
*Cary - Crossroads Plaza; now Old Navy and Michaels.
*Charlotte - Albemarle Rd
*Gastonia - Franklin Square; now Best Buy
*Pineville - McMullen Creek Marketplace; now Burlington Coat Factory

outh Carolina

*Anderson - Anderson Mall - later Belk Men's & Home Store, closed 2007 for mall expansion
*Greenville - McAlister Square - opened in former Meyers-Arnold; closed 1999, now used by Greenville Technical College
*Spartanburg - Westgate Mall - closed 1999. Now Dick's Sporting Goods and Bed Bath & Beyond
*Greenwood - Crosscreek Mall - Now Greenwood Mall Nothing has taken over the space

Tennessee

*Franklin Cool Springs - Closed 1999
*Jackson Old Hickory Blvd - Closed 1999
*Memphis Winchester Rd - Closed 1999

Virginia

*Chesapeake - Crossways Shopping Center - opened in a former Bradlees, closed 1999, now Value City Furniture
*Newport News - Patrick Henry Mall - opened in former Bradlees, closed 1999, now JCPenney
*Springfield - Springfield Mall - closed 1999, now Kohl's
*Virginia Beach - Pembroke Mall - opened 1990 in former Miller & Rhoads, closed 1999, now Kohl's

References